Airline passenger's lost luggage ends up at homeless encampment in Hollywood

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Air travel can be hectic, and even more so if your luggage is lost. That's what happened to Aunny Grace when she flew into Hollywood Burbank Airport.

"It went to Denver, then Denver back to Dallas, and then eventually, five days later, it made its way back to Burbank," said Grace.

At that point, Grace thought her luggage was fine. Someone even notified her, saying her bag was delivered to her home. However, she had placed an Apple AirTag in her bag that allowed her to track it.

"I took a look at the AirTag and it said it was in Hollywood. My intuition told me something was wrong when I saw my bag slowly moving down Western Avenue," said Grace.

She said the AirTag eventually ended up near the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue.

She said that's when she found her belongings at a homeless encampment.

"I was mortified. I was shocked ... complete disbelief," said Grace. "I was in such shock that I wasn't even aware of my surroundings. Where is my stuff? Where do I even look?"

"I just started grabbing my stuff, crying, vendors are on the street looking at me, crying like grabbing my stuff out of this cart," she added.

The homeless person claimed he had bought the bag.

Grace was with a friend who paid him so she could get her belongings. She said there were several other bags there and wonders how this could've happened.

Grace claims at the airport, some of the bags are out in the open, making it easy for anyone to grab them.

"The bags that are delayed, they remove them from the carousel line, and they bring them to the office. So you have the bags in the office, and then you have the rest of them are just outside," said Grace.

Grace has since filed a police report.

In a statement sent to Eyewitness News, American Airlines said, "We strive to ensure that our customers' checked luggage and other items arrive at their destinations on schedule and in their original condition. We are investigating what occurred here and, in the meantime, a member of our team is in contact with the customer to apologize and resolve the issue."

Grace said after ABC7 contacted the airline, they called her to say they're working to address the issue.

"My ultimate goal here, and appreciation that you took an interest, is if it happened to me, it's happening to other people, and it's going to keep happening until someone is held accountable," she said.

Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that Aunny Grace found her belongings at a homeless encampment, not her suitcase.